RAsputina

Many people come to Malifaux to find a new life, where they can earn Soulstones and make their dreams a reality. Others arrive under the watchful eye of the Guild to serve out a punishment for crimes committed Earthside. Rasputina arrived in such a manner, but quickly escaped from the labor camp she was consigned to and fled into the wilderness.

Where she went after her escape, how she managed to evade recovery, and when she met the being known only as December, no one knows. All anyone can say for certain is that she left the chain gang as a beautiful and strong willed woman and when she returned, she was still beautiful and strong willed but she also had the ability to control the weather, able to pull up a severe snow storm out of thin air. While the exact terms of her engagement with December has remained shrouded in mystery, it is clear that she has become a threat. While she is loosely associated with Miners and Steamfitters Union, it is always her own will which holds ahead of all others.

Such is her skill at controlling the weather that she can create objects and creatures by freezing water in the air and command them to her will, whether her goal is the destruction of an opponent or as a utility to aim her own chilling spells from a protected position. True winter is a terrifying time for her enemies because they can never be sure if the storm blowing in is natural or the only warning they will have before she descends upon them.

Box Set

Rasputina’s box comes with six models, including Rasputina herself. The Ice Golem is her primary enforcer, and very little is capable of capable of stopping the frozen giant once it gets going. Her Ice Gamin minions are smaller version of the Golem, and they provide the ranged attacks and numbers needed to support their larger cousin. The Wendigo is Rasputina’s totem, and it brings some much appreciated speed to her otherwise tough but slow crew.

TACTICA

Rasputina is an Arcanist Master who primarily focuses on casting spells from a distance. She may draw range and LoS through other friendly models with the Frozen Heart Ability, granting her a much greater reach on the board than most models. Because of this, her Crew will usually contain a fair number of Frozen Heart models, but there are plenty of other models in the Arcanist Faction which are a good choice for her as well.

The main damaging spell Rasputina will find herself using is December’s Curse. This Action has a decent twelve inch range, can produce blasts, and can be taken again with the Overpower Trigger. This makes Rasputina a fantastic Master to keep back and blast away with while her Crew accomplishes the objectives. However, shooting isn’t the only trick in her book, she can also hand out Armor to friendly models and Paralyze enemies.

Rasputina’s Upgrades grant her a number of great choices, such as the ability to put Ice Pillars in the enemy’s way, the ability to count the Black Joker as the Red Joker, and even the option to make targeting through her own models more efficient. Her biggest weakness is getting stuck into combat where she is unable to level her amazing ranged Attacks; however, she has the option to take the Armor of December Upgrade which will give her an easy way out of combat if she finds herself in that unfortunate situation. Ultimately, Rasputina is a Master with some amazing strengths and noticeable drawbacks, making her a fun tactical piece to put on the table.